Wireless Network Synchronization

ABSTRACT

Provided are various implementations of a wireless network synchronization solution. In one implementation, such a solution includes a mobile communication device including a receiver for use with the wireless network. The receiver is configured to receive a downlink communication from the wireless network, to detect a primary synchronization signal (PSS) at a PSS subframe symbol of the downlink communication, and to detect a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) at an SSS subframe symbol of the downlink communication. The receiver is further configured to identify the downlink communication as being duplexed using one of a first duplexing mode and a second duplexing mode when the PSS subframe symbol follows the SSS subframe symbol, and to identify the downlink communication as being duplexed using the other of the first duplexing mode and the second duplexing mode when the PSS subframe symbol precedes the SSS subframe symbol.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based on and claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/757,655, filed Jan. 28, 2013, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

As mobile communication devices, such as tablet computers andsmartphones, become more powerful and versatile, they are increasinglyused by consumers to access rich, bandwidth intensive media content,such as video content, over wireless networks. In order to meet therequirements of this ever increasing and ever more demanding mediaconsumption while concurrently satisfying established consumerexpectations with respect to service quality, more efficient and robustwireless communication solutions are being explored.

One approach to improving wireless network performance includesproviding increased wireless cell coverage and enhancing coordinationbetween wireless cell types. For example the use of more small cells andreductions in the reference signaling required of those small cells canreduce latency and increase efficiency. At the physical layer, suchimprovements may be enabled by introduction of a Long Term Evolution(LTE) New Carrier Type (NCT). However, an NCT optimized forstate-of-the-art wireless network performance may not be backwardcompatible with legacy user equipment that may remain in use for asignificant period of time. As a result, it is desirable that such anNCT be structured so as to be substantially transparent to existinglegacy user equipment.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to wireless network synchronization,as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of thefigures, and as set forth more completely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a communication environment including mobile communicationdevices receiving downlink communications from a wireless network,according to one implementation;

FIG. 1B shows a more detailed representation of an exemplary mobilecommunication device suitable for use in the communication environmentof FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C shows a more detailed representation of an exemplary basestation suitable for use in the communication environment of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary radio frame from the downlink communicationsshown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 shows two exemplary physical resource blocks (PRBs) correspondingto selected subframes of the radio frame of FIG. 2, according to oneimplementation;

FIG. 4 shows two exemplary PRBs corresponding to selected subframes ofthe radio frame of FIG. 2, according to another implementation; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart presenting an exemplary method for identifying adownlink communication from a wireless network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description contains specific information pertaining toimplementations in the present disclosure. The drawings in the presentapplication and their accompanying detailed description are directed tomerely exemplary implementations. Unless noted otherwise, like orcorresponding elements among the figures may be indicated by like orcorresponding reference numerals. Moreover, the drawings andillustrations in the present application are generally not to scale, andare not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions.

FIG. 1A shows exemplary communication environment 100 including userequipment in the form of mobile communication devices 140 a and 140 breceiving respective downlink communications 110 a and 110 b fromwireless network 102. Exemplary wireless network 102 may be a 3^(rd)Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) networkconfigured to utilize a New Carrier Type developed for the 3GPP RadioLayer 1 (RAN1), for example. As shown in FIG. 1A, wireless network 102includes cells 104 a and 104 b having respective base stations 106 a and106 b.

One or both of cells 104 a and 104 b may be a macro cell covering arelatively large geographical area, or a small cell, such as a pico cellor femto cell, as known in the art. Base stations 106 a and 106 b maycorrespond respectively to the type of cell (i.e., cells 104 a and 104b) they occupy. In other words, if cell 104 a is a macro cell while cell104 b is a pico cell, base station 106 a may be configured as a macrocell base station while base station 106 b may be configured as a picocell base station, and so forth. As a result, wireless network 102 maybe a heterogeneous network including different types of base stationssupporting different types of cells. Moreover, wireless network 102 maybe configured to support synchronous or asynchronous operation.

As shown in FIG. 1A, user 108 a utilizes mobile communication device 140a to communicate with wireless network 102. Similarly, user 108 butilizes mobile communication device 140 b to communicate with wirelessnetwork 102. Mobile communication devices 140 a and 140 b receiverespective downlink communications 110 a and 110 b from wireless network102, and transmit respective uplink communications 112 a and 112 b towireless network 102. As depicted in FIG. 1A, mobile communicationdevice 140 a may be a mobile telephone, while mobile communicationdevice 140 b may be a touch screen device such as a smartphone or tabletcomputer. Other examples of user equipment corresponding to one or bothof mobile communication devices 140 a and 140 b include a laptopcomputer, netbook, gaming console, or any other kind of mobile device orsystem utilized as a transceiver in modern electronics applications.

Moving to FIG. 1B, FIG. 1B shows a more detailed representation ofexemplary mobile communication device 140 suitable for use incommunication environment 100, in FIG. 1A. Mobile communication device140, in FIG. 1B, includes processor 142, memory 144, transmitter 146,and receiver 148. It is noted that processor 142 is a hardwareprocessor, while memory 144 is a non-transitory memory. It is furthernoted that transmitter 146 and receiver 148 are coupled to processor 142and memory 144 so as to be controlled by processor 142 and so as to beable to write/read data to/from memory 144. Mobile communication device140 is exemplary of any user equipment suitable for use with wirelessnetwork 102, in FIG. 1A. For example, mobile communication device 140can correspond to either or both of mobile communication devices 140 aand 140 b, in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIG. 1C, FIG. 1C shows a more detailed representation ofexemplary base station 106 suitable for use in communication environment100, in FIG. 1A. Base station 106, in FIG. 1C, includes processor 122,such as a hardware processor, and memory 124, which may benon-transitory memory. Base station also includes transmitter 126 andreceiver 128 coupled to processor 122 and memory 124 so as to becontrolled by processor 122 and so as to be able to write/read datato/from memory 124. Base station 106 is exemplary of any of the varioustypes of base stations utilized to support cells in wireless network102, in FIG. 1A. For example, base station 106 can correspond to eitheror both of base stations 106 a and 106 b of respective cells 104 a and104 b, in FIG. 1A.

As discussed above, as mobile communication devices, such as mobilecommunication device 140 in FIG. 1B, become more powerful and versatile,they are increasingly utilized by consumers, such as users 108 a and 108b in FIG. 1A, to access rich, bandwidth intensive media content. Inorder to meet the requirements of this ever increasing and ever moredemanding media consumption while concurrently satisfying theexpectations of users 108 a and 108 b with respect to service quality,wireless network 102 should be both energy-efficient and robust.

At the physical layer, the desired network capability may be enabled byintroduction of a higher performance NCT. However, an NCT optimized forstate-of-the-art wireless network technology may not be backwardcompatible for legacy user equipment that may remain in use for asignificant period of time. The present application discloses a solutionenabling an NCT network to coexist with legacy user equipment with whichthe NCT may not be backward compatible. In one implementation, the NCTis configured to map a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and asecondary synchronization signal (SSS) utilized in LTE downlinkcommunications for cell detection and cell acquisition, away from theirpositions in legacy frameworks. Moreover, in some implementations, theduplexing mode used to provide the downlink communication may bedistinguished based on the relative locations of the PSS and SSS withina physical resource block (PRB) of the downlink communication. Forexample, in one implementation, the duplexing mode may be identified asTime-Division Duplexing (TDD) when the PSS precedes the SSS, and asFrequency-Division Duplexing (FDD) when the SSS precedes the PSS.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 shows exemplary radio frame 214 fromdownlink communication 210. It is noted that downlink communication 210corresponds in general to downlink communications 110 a and 110 b, inFIG. 1A. In LTE, downlink communication 210 including radio frame 214 istypically sent from base station 106, in FIG. 1B, using OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Radio frame 214 may have aduration of ten milliseconds (10 ms) and may be partitioned into tensubframes, for example. The ten subframes of radio frame 214 may belabeled subframes 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and are respectivelyidentified by reference numbers 214-0, 214-1, 214-2, 214-3, 214-4,214-5, 214-6, 214-7, 214-8, and 214-9.

As shown in FIG. 2, each subframe of radio frame 214 may be furtherpartitioned into multiple OFDM symbol periods, with the specific numberof symbol periods depending on whether the subframes utilize a normalcyclic prefix (CP) or an extended CP format. As specific examples, FIG.2 shows subframe 5 (214-5) in detail as normal CP subframe 214-5 ahaving fourteen symbol periods and as extended CP subframe 214-5 bhaving twelve symbol periods. Normal CP subframe 214-5 a includes symbolperiods 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, while extendedCP subframe 214-b includes symbol periods 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10, and 11. Exemplary symbol periods 1 and 2 are identified byrespective reference numbers 216-1 a and 216-2 a in normal CP subframe214-5 a, and by respective reference numbers 216-1 b and 216-2 b inextended CP subframe 214-5 b.

Continuing to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 shows two exemplary PRBs corresponding ingeneral to subframe 214-5 (subframe 5) of radio frame 214, in FIG. 2,when FDD mode is used to provide downlink signal 210. It is noted thatalthough PRBs from subframe 214-5 are represented in FIG. 3 forexemplary purposes, the PSS and SSS mapping shown in FIG. 3 is equallyapplicable to subframe 214-0 (subframe 0) of radio frame 214. PRB 314-5a, in FIG. 3, corresponds in general to normal CP subframe 214-5 a, inFIG. 2, while PRB 314-5 b corresponds in general to extended CP subframe214-5 b.

PRB 314-5 a has cell specific reference signals (CRSS) or trackingreference signal (TRSs) at symbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11, of whichexemplary CRS/TRS 319 is identified as such in FIG. 3. In addition, PRB314-5 a has user equipment-specific reference signals for demodulation(UE-RSs) at symbol periods 5, 6, 12, and 13, of which exemplary UE-RS318 is identified as such. Like PRB 314-5 a, PRB 314-5 b includesCRSs/TRSs, of which exemplary CRS/TRS 319 is identified as such.However, unlike PRB 314-5 a, the CRSs/TRSs of PRB 314-5 b are at symbolperiods 0, 3, 6, and 9.

As shown in FIG. 3, both PRB 314-5 a and PRB 314-5 b have respective PSSsubframe symbols 316-2 a and 316-2 b occupied by the PSS, and respectiveSSS subframe symbols 316-1 a and 316-1 b occupied by the SSS. Accordingto the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 3, PSS subframe symbols316-2 a and 316-2 b of respective PRBs 314-5 a and 314-5 b substantiallycoincide with symbol period 2.

It is noted that the initial subframe symbol period of each radiosubframe, such as symbol period 0 of subframes 214-5 a and 214-5 b inFIG. 2, is identified using the index zero (0), i.e., the initial symbolperiod is the “zeroth” symbol period. As a result, PSS subframe symbol316-2 a/316-2 b corresponds to the second OFDM symbol period of subframe214-5 a/214-5 b, i.e., OFDM symbol period 216-2 a/216-2 b. Moreover, SSSsubframe symbol 316-1 a/316-1 b, in FIG. 3, corresponds to the firstOFDM symbol period of subframe 214-5 a/214-5 b, i.e., OFDM symbol period216-1 a/216-1 b. Thus, in one implementation, PSS subframe symbol 316-2a/316-2 b and SSS subframe symbol 316-1 a/316-1 b are at adjoiningsymbol periods, with PSS subframe symbol 316-2 a/316-2 b) following SSSsubframe symbol 316-1 a/316-1 b.

Moving to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 shows two exemplary PRBs corresponding ingeneral to subframe 214-5 (subframe 5) of radio frame 214, in FIG. 2,when TDD mode is used to provide downlink signal 210. As noted above byreference to FIG. 3, although PRBs from subframe 214-5 are representedfor exemplary purposes, the PSS and SSS mapping shown in FIG. 4 isequally applicable to subframe 214-0 (subframe 0) of radio frame 214.PRB 414-5 a, in FIG. 4, corresponds in general to normal CP subframe214-5 a, in FIG. 2, while PRB 414-5 b corresponds in general to extendedCP subframe 214-5 b.

Like PRB 314-5 a, in FIG. 3, PRB 414-5 a, in FIG. 4 has CRSs/TRSs atsymbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11, of which exemplary CRS/TRS 419 isidentified as such. In addition, PRB 414-5 a also has UE-RSs at symbolperiods 5, 6, 12, and 13, of which exemplary UE-RS 318 is identified assuch. Like PRB 414-5 a, PRB 414-5 b includes CRSs/TRSs, of whichexemplary CRS/TRS 419 is identified as such. However, like PRB 314-5 b,the CRSs/TRSs of PRB 414-5 b are at symbol periods 0, 3, 6, and 9.

Both PRB 414-5 a and PRB 414-5 b have respective PSS subframe symbols416-1 a and 416-1 b occupied by the PSS, and respective SSS subframesymbols 416-2 a and 416-2 b occupied by the SSS. According to theexemplary implementation shown in FIG. 4, PSS subframe symbols 416-1 aand 416-1 b of respective PRBs 414-5 a and 414-5 b substantiallycoincide with symbol period 1. That is to say, PSS subframe symbol 416-1a/416-1 b corresponds to OFDM symbol period 216-1 a/216-1 b, in FIG. 2,i.e., the first OFDM symbol period of subframe 214-5 a/214-5 b.Furthermore, SSS subframe symbol 416-2 a/416-2 b, in FIG. 4, correspondsto OFDM symbol period 216-2 a/216-2 b, in FIG. 2, i.e., the second OFDMsymbol period of subframe 214-5 a/214-5 b. Thus, in one implementation,PSS subframe symbol 416-1 a/416-1 b and SSS subframe symbol 416-2a/416-2 b are at adjoining symbol periods, with PSS subframe symbol416-1 a/416-1 b preceding SSS subframe symbol 416-2 a/416-2 b.

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3, and 4 will now be further described by referenceto FIG. 5, which presents flowchart 500 describing an exemplary methodfor identifying a downlink communication from a wireless network. Withrespect to the method outlined in FIG. 5, it is noted that certaindetails and features have been left out of flowchart 500 in order not toobscure the discussion of the inventive features in the presentapplication.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, IC, and 2 in combination with FIG. 5,flowchart 500 begins with receiving downlink communication 110 a/110b/210 from wireless network 102 (510). As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B,downlink communications 110 a and 110 b can be received by userequipment depicted as mobile communication device 140, using receiver148 in combination with processor 142 and memory 144. Moreover, downlinkcommunications 110 a and 110 b may be provided (i.e., transmitted) bybase station 106, using processor 122 and memory 124. As noted above,wireless network 102 may be an LTE network employing an NCT, for exampleLTE release 12, and downlink communication 110 a/110 b/210 may be anOFDM downlink communication. Referring, in addition, to FIGS. 3 and 4 incombination with FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, and 5, flowchart 500 continueswith detecting a PSS at PSS subframe symbol 316-2 a/316-2 b/416-1a/416-1 b of downlink communication 210 (520). The PSS may be includedat PSS subframe symbol 316-2 a/316-2 b/416-1 a/416-1 b by base station106, using processor 122 and memory 124, and may be detected by receiver148 of mobile communication device 140, under the control of processor142 and in conjunction with use of memory 144. According to theimplementations shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the PSS may be detected ateither the first or the second OFDM symbol period in multiple subframes,such as subframe 214-0 (subframe 0) and subframe 214-5 (subframe 5) ofradio frame 214.

Continuing to refer to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3, and 4 in combination withFIG. 5, flowchart 500 proceeds with detecting an SSS at SSS subframesymbol 316-1 a/316-1 b/416-2 a/416-2 b of downlink communication 210(530). The SSS may be included at SSS subframe symbol 316-1 a/316-1b/416-2 a/416-2 b by base station 106, using processor 122 and memory124, and may be detected by receiver 148 of mobile communication device140, under the control of processor 142 and in conjunction with use ofmemory 144. Moreover, according to the implementations shown in FIGS. 2,3, and 4, the SSS, like the PSS, may be detected at either the first orthe second OFDM symbol period in multiple subframes, i.e., subframe214-0 (subframe 0) and subframe 214-5 (subframe 5) of radio frame 214.

It is reiterated that the initial subframe symbol period, such as symbolperiod 0 of subframes 214-5 a and 214-5 b in FIG. 2, is identified asthe zeroth symbol period. With respect to the first and second symbolperiods, i.e., symbol periods 216-1 a/216-1 b and 216-2 a/216-2 b, it iscontemplated that those symbol periods will remain substantially free ofreference and control signals in the NCT. Consequently, mapping of thePSS and the SSS exclusively to the first and second symbol periods canadvantageously avoid collisions of the PSS and SSS with NCT controland/or reference signals.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, and 3 in combination with FIG. 5,flowchart 500 continues with identifying downlink communication 110a/110 b/210 as being duplexed using one of a first and a secondduplexing mode when PSS subframe symbol 316-2 a/316-2 b follows SSSsubframe 316-1 a/316-1 b (540). Identification of the duplexing modeused to provide downlink communication 110 a/110 b may be performed byreceiver 148 of mobile communication device 140, under the control ofprocessor 142 and in conjunction with use of memory 144. As shown inFIG. 3, in one implementation, the duplexing mode may be identified asFDD when PSS subframe symbol 316-2 a/316-2 b follows SSS subframe symbol316-1 a/316-1 b.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, and 4 in combination with FIG. 5,flowchart 500 may conclude with identifying downlink communication 110a/110 b/210 as being duplexed using the other of the first and thesecond duplexing mode when PSS subframe symbol 416-1 a/416-1 b precedesSSS subframe symbol 416-2 a/416-2 b (550). As noted above,identification of the duplexing mode used to provide downlinkcommunication 110 a/110 b may be performed by mobile communicationdevice 140, under the control of processor 142 and in conjunction withuse of memory 144. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, in oneimplementation, the duplexing mode may be identified as TDD when PSSsubframe symbol 416-1 a/416-1 b precedes SSS subframe symbol 416-2a/416-2 b.

It is noted that although FIGS. 3 and 4 show PSS subframe symbol 316-2a/316-2 b following SSS subframe symbol 316-1 a/316-1 b for FDD, and PSSsubframe symbol 416-la/416-1 b preceding SSS subframe symbol 416-2a/416-2 b for TDD, that representation is merely exemplary. In otherimplementations, the opposite mapping sequence may be used foridentification of the duplexing mode, i.e., PSS following SSS for TDD,and PSS preceding SSS for FDD. Moreover, in other implementations, oneor more other duplexing modes may be utilized in place of one or both ofthe FDD and TDD modes shown in respective FIGS. 3 and 4.

Thus, the present application discloses a wireless networksynchronization solution enabling an NCT network to coexist with legacyuser equipment with which the NCT may not be backward compatible. Bymapping the PSSs and SSSs utilized in LTE downlink communications forcell detection and cell acquisition to first and second symbol periodsof the downlink communication radio subframes, the NCT communicationsare rendered substantially transparent to existing legacy userequipment. In addition, by reversing the symbol period ordering of thePSS and SSS subframe symbol mapping based on the duplexing mode used toprovide the downlink communication, the present solution enablesidentification of the downlink communication frame structure.

From the above description it is manifest that various techniques can beused for implementing the concepts described in the present applicationwithout departing from the scope of those concepts. Moreover, while theconcepts have been described with specific reference to certainimplementations, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognizethat changes can be made in form and detail without departing from thescope of those concepts. As such, the described implementations are tobe considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Itshould also be understood that the present application is not limited tothe particular implementations described above, but many rearrangements,modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile communication device comprising: areceiver configured to: receive a downlink communication from a wirelessnetwork; detect a primary synchronization signal (PSS) at a PSS subframesymbol of the downlink communication; detect a secondary synchronizationsignal (SSS) at an SSS subframe symbol of the downlink communication;identify the downlink communication as being duplexed using one of afirst duplexing mode and a second duplexing mode when the PSS subframesymbol follows the SSS subframe symbol; identify the downlinkcommunication as being duplexed using the other of the first duplexingmode and the second duplexing mode when the PSS subframe symbol precedesthe SSS subframe symbol.
 2. The mobile communication device of claim 1,wherein the wireless network comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) NewCarrier Type (NCT) network.
 3. The mobile communication device of claim1, wherein the first duplexing mode is one of Frequency-DivisionDuplexing (FDD) and Time-Division Duplexing (TDD).
 4. The mobilecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the PSS subframe symbol and theSSS subframe symbol are detected at adjoining symbol periods of thedownlink communication.
 5. The mobile communication device of claim 1,wherein the PSS subframe symbol is detected at a second OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol period in a plurality ofsubframes of the downlink communication.
 6. The mobile communicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the SSS subframe symbol is detected at asecond OFDM symbol period in a plurality of subframes of the downlinkcommunication.
 7. The mobile communication device of claim 1, whereinthe PSS subframe symbol and the SSS subframe symbol are detected atadjoining OFDM symbol periods of a subframe zero (subframe 0) and asubframe five (subframe 5) of a radio frame of the downlinkcommunication.
 8. A method for identifying a downlink communication froma wireless network, the method comprising: receiving the downlinkcommunication from the wireless network; detecting a primarysynchronization signal (PSS) at a PSS subframe symbol of the downlinkcommunication; detecting a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) at anSSS subframe symbol of the downlink communication; identifying thedownlink communication as being duplexed using one of a first duplexingmode and a second duplexing mode when the PSS subframe symbol followsthe SSS subframe symbol; identifying the downlink communication as beingduplexed using the other of the first duplexing mode and the secondduplexing mode when the PSS subframe symbol precedes the SSS subframesymbol.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the wireless network comprisesa Long Term Evolution (LTE) New Carrier Type (NCT) network.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the first duplexing mode is one ofFrequency-Division Duplexing (FDD) and Time-Division Duplexing (TDD).11. The method of claim 8, wherein the PSS subframe symbol and the SSSsubframe symbol are detected at adjoining symbol periods of the downlinkcommunication.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the PSS subframesymbol is detected at a second Orthogonal Frequency-DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) symbol period of a plurality of subframes of thedownlink communication.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the SSSsubframe symbol is detected at a second OFDM symbol period of aplurality of subframes of the downlink communication.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the PSS subframe symbol and the SSS subframe symbol aredetected at adjoining OFDM symbol periods of a subframe zero (subframe0) and a subframe five (subframe 5) of a radio frame of the downlinkcommunication.
 15. A wireless network comprising: a network base stationconfigured to provide a downlink communication to a mobile communicationdevice, the downlink communication provided by the base stationincluding a primary synchronization signal (PSS) at a PSS subframesymbol of the downlink communication, and a secondary synchronizationsignal (SSS) at an SSS subframe symbol of the downlink communication;wherein the PSS subframe symbol follows the SSS subframe symbol when thedownlink communication is duplexed using a first duplexing mode, andwherein the PSS subframe symbol precedes the SSS subframe symbol whenthe downlink communication is duplexed using a second duplexing mode.16. The wireless network of claim 15, wherein the wireless networkcomprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) New Carrier Type (NCT) network.17. The wireless network of claim 15, wherein the first duplexing modeis one of Frequency-Division Duplexing (FDD) and Time-Division Duplexing(TDD).
 18. The wireless network of claim 15, wherein the PSS subframesymbol and the SSS subframe symbol are included at adjoining symbolperiods of the downlink communication.
 19. The wireless network of claim15, wherein the PSS subframe symbol is included at a second OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol period of a plurality ofsubframes of the downlink communication.
 20. The wireless network ofclaim 15, wherein the SSS subframe symbol is included at a second OFDMsymbol period of a plurality of subframes of the downlink communication.